Death Registration

What is a Death Certificate and its Importance?

Concerned offices of Government of India issue Death Certificate to nearest relatives of anybody deceased as a proof document. Such certificates describe major details like date & cause of one's death or other related facts. Proving time and date of a person's death won't be possible without registering death of an individual into the office of concerned authorities to establish such facts. It is important for family members to relieve a dead person from social, legal and official obligations and most importantly to ease the property settlement issues by enabling for the cases of inheritance. It also paves the way for family members to obtain insurance benefits sought.

The Legal Framework

Government of India has made it mandatory under specific law according to Registration of Births & Deaths Act, 1969 for all to register all deaths in specific States / UTs within three weeks of a person's death. A new website opening in new window defines more about that. As it is important factor such registrations are dealt in carefully for which Government has already taken initiatives to implement an effective Death registration system. Registrar General of India monitors the records by the active assistance of Chief Registrars in respective states. They are further assisted by district registrars to record the death cases in towns or villages through the registrars on local levels respectively.

Need of Death Certificate

Registration and reporting of a death can be done by anybody concerned from family's head when it occurs at home; attending medical in-charge while death is in hospital; jailers if one dies in jail and of course village headman or local police in-charge in case unidentified dead bodies are found in areas that were entirely deserted.

Register the death of a person before you apply for Death Certificate. Register one's death to the local authorities in concerned area within three weeks of death occurred. Do it through filling a form which Registrar prescribes. Once proper verification completes, issuance of a Death Certificate becomes easy.
One has to pay the required fee for late registration of death in case death was not registered within the 21 days of one's death. You are asked to take permission from Registrar/Area Magistrate for that if willing to have a Death Certificate in such scenario.

Local body authorities of an area where you apply for Death Certificate provides application forms which you are asked to fill and submit to Registrar's office who takes into account all cases of deaths for registration purpose. Other documents required are submission of a deceased person's proof of birth and an affidavit which make specification for the death's time and date. One is asked to submit a ration card copy besides fees applicable for court fee stamps for death certificate issuance.

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